"Lorentz, thanks to his mathematical knowledge, realised that something much deeper was at the root of all the trouble and that more radical means would have to be adopted. Accordingly, he proceeded to tackle the very foundations of science, namely, the space and time transformations which had endured for centuries. But Lorentz only proceeded in a half-hearted way and did not have the courage to push his discoveries to their logical conclusion, contenting himself with patching up rather than reconstructing. Einstein... took the bull by the horns, abandoned the classical structure, and proceeded to build up an entirely new edifice, superbly coherent and free from all artificial support and scaffoldings."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Nobel laureates in PhysicsAcademics from the NetherlandsPhysicists from the NetherlandsMathematicians from the NetherlandsNobel laureates from the Netherlands
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 139
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hendrik_Lorentz
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Hendrik Lorentz
Hendrik Antoon Lorentz (July 18, 1853 – February 4, 1928) was a Dutch physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for the discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect. He also derived the transformation equations which formed the basis of the special relativity theory of Albert Einstein. He was Chairman of the International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation from 1925 to his death.
21 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Hendrik Lorentz →
Related Quotes
"Briefly, everything occurs as if the Earth were at rest."
"Let there be in every material particle several material points charged with electricity, of which, however, only one…"
"One has been led to the conception of electrons, i.e. of extremely small particles, charged with electricity, which a…"
"The impressions received by the two observers A0 and A would be alike in all respects. It would be impossible to deci…"
"Einstein's theory has the very highest degree of æsthetic merit: every lover of the beautiful must wish it to be true…"
"I cannot refrain... from expressing my surprise that, according to the report in The Times there should be so much co…"
"The term relativity refers to time and space. According to Galileo and Newton, time and space were absolute entities,…"
"Lorentz made an important addition to his original theory. He introduced changes in time. Clocks, he said, would be s…"
"It may well be said that Lorentz was regarded by all theoretical physicists as the world's leading spirit, who comple…"
"At the anniversary meeting of the Royal Society on November 30 medals were presented by the president Sir J. J. Thoms…"